Why does Dante feel like such a jump from everyone else?

I was messing around in the void with Vergil and was amazed by how much I suck with his 4 weapons. Fun but felt complicated to be good. Then there's Dante with 8 weapons fully equipped and the extra moves from Gunslinger and Swordmaster. Nero is simple, V doesn't make sense but isn't as complicated as Dante. Do people really consciously do combos or just mash and get lucky?